stakeout n : surveillance of some place or some person by the police (as in anticipation of a crime)

English

Noun

1. The act of watching a location, generally covertly.

   The police had a stakeout in place where they expected the crime to occur.

A stakeout is the coordinated hidden surveillance of a location or person for the purpose of gathering evidence, especially in regard to criminal activity. The term derives from the practice by surveyors of using stakes to measure out an area before the main building project is commenced.

See also

• Surveillance

bugging, cloak-and-dagger work, counterespionage, counterintelligence, electronic surveillance, espial, espionage, following, intelligence, intelligence work, military intelligence, observation, secret police, secret service, shadowing, spying, surveillance, tailing, trailing, wiretap, wiretapping